My Life Part II-A blog by the Vegan Teacher

Community……

How’d your time alone go? Did you begin a journey? Think about a journey? Start to realize what makes you happy? Baby steps, my friends, baby steps!

So…as usual…I left you with a cliff-hanger. Where did I find my Vegan Community? Well, it started in a way most of us are very familiar with….google search! I was searching for Vegan sites when I came across a very interesting ad for the Main Street Vegan Academy! WAIT! WHAT? THERE’S A VEGAN ACADEMY! Oh, yes, there is! I knew I had to be part of this! The excitement and thoughts began racing…how, when, where…..

When I found this ad, I had been vegan for many years and vegetarian before that. I always did my research and knew the foods and nutrients I needed AND the names of the most-influential vegans out there. Yes…there are influential vegans…activists, advocates, teachers, lecturers, bloggers and foodies…all of whom make our world easier to live in and more compassionate. Well…I was thrilled to learn that these people made up the faculty at the Vegan ACADEMY! How could I not go? I filled out the necessary paperwork and the lovely Director, Victoria Moran, emailed me extending a space in their already FULL program. How compassionate this school was already! When I tell you the class was full, I mean full. I was enrolled in a program with all VEGANS and vegans from AROUND THE WORLD at that! People travel far and wide to attend this program. I was lucky enough to meet and spend time with wonderful vegan people from India, Puerto Rico and all over the United States! I am proud to say I still speak with them and the support and sense of community we have together is unbelievable!

So..back to the adventure…I anxiously awaited the first day of classes. I ordered my books, did the necessary readings, watched the necessary videos and searched the necessary sites. (Yes, people, this is a REAL class with REAL assignments and work!) I’m ready! The night before the first day of class I was like a kid on Christmas Eve! I couldn’t wait! The next day was going to mark the beginning of a new chapter for me, for my classmates, as well! We had no idea what type of amazing journey was ahead of us but boy were we lucky to have taken part in it!

We had very long days filled with learning, food, recipes and fun! We had walking tours and discussions at local shops! We met amazing lecturers such as Christian Sebastian, a Columbia University professor and vegan who taught us about Speciesism. Fran Costigan, the amazing Vegan baker. Mariann Sullivan, Producer of Our Hen House and lawyer who taught us about Animal Law. JL Fields, famous blogger and cookbook author. Of course, Victoria Moran, author, lecturer, Director of the Vegan Academy, blogger, cookbook creator, and so much more! We were taught by doctors, nutritionists, business people, etc. What a marvelous, marvelous course-load!

We were now on our way to VEGANIZE THE WORLD! Watch out…here come the 2016 graduates of the Main Street Vegan Academy! Our companies are up (or almost up) and running…we use facebook, blogs, twitter, instagram, etc. to get the word out to the world and, most of all, we support each other!